Celebrate International Women's Day with Oxfam!

Wed, March 2, 2011

March 8th, 2011, marks the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day (IWD). Around the world, organizations and individuals will be celebrating this exciting historic landmark. From coast to coast, Oxfam America supporters will organize 100 events in 100 days, and you're invited! Join the Austin Oxfam Action Corps at a very special event called "Ending Hunger Starts with Women."

WHAT: Reception, Presentation and Panel Discussion... and it's FREE!

WHEN: Wednesday, March 9th, 7:00 to 8:30 pm

WHERE: Austin Museum of Art

RSVP: austin.oxfamactioncorps@gmail.com

Currently, Catherine Weaver of the LBJ School and Niyanta Spelman of the Rainforest Partnership will appear as speakers, and potentially Susana Almanza of PODER.

This event is the beginning of a dialogue about food justice in its global dimensions. We don't expect to arrive at all the answers in one night, but it's urgent that we further the conversation. There is something drastically wrong when nearly 1 billion people in the world are chronically hungry. And most of them - 3 out of 5 - are involved in food production, either by farming, fishing or herding. Women are the majority of farmers in this context, and so shoulder the added burden of gender inequality.

There is something wrong when our US cities have pockets of so-called 'food deserts' where people of limited income cannot easily access affordable healthy food. And there is something wrong when the food we do eat today depletes our natural resources for tomorrow because of unsustainable practices.

But it does not need to be this way. We can embrace solutions and a smarter, fairer food economy. So join us, at what promises to be a fun, uplifting and enlightening event, and find out how we can choose better ways to eat and grow our food, and at the same time advocate so that people worldwide have the rights and the resources to do the same.